March 8, 2016: What to Do if You're Waitlisted

posted Jun 6, 2016, 3:54 PM by Kristin Hannon

College Readiness NewsletterMarch 8, 2016

Weekly College Update

Dear Senior Bulldogs, Thunderbirds, Huskies, and Snow Leopards,

Over the next month or so, lots more college application decisions will be coming your way. Hopefully those decisions will contain good news (acceptances) and not bad news (denials). However, there’s a third type of news to be prepared for…

Contact admissions for more information. You can call and ask if they have a priority waitlist or if they rank applicants. They’ll tell you as much information as they can, and you will demonstrate your interest by calling.

Read your waitlist offer carefully and take action. You may need to officially notify the school by a certain date that you want to remain on their waitlist. You may also be asked to submit additional information in support of your application, such as another letter of recommendation or an essay about why you want to attend the school.

The waitlist is not a guarantee of admission! You don’t want to put all of your eggs in that basket. If you’ve been accepted to other schools, you should choose one and enroll by the May 1st deadline in case you don’t eventually get off the waitlist at the other school.

You can remain on the waitlist at one school while you enroll in another school. Just be aware that any deposits you make at the time of enrollment are usually non-refundable. You will lose that money if you end up canceling your enrollment because you got accepted off the waitlist somewhere else.

Feel good about your accomplishment. While being on the waitlist wasn’t your first choice, at least it’s better than being rejected. If a school has a waitlist, it means they are competitive and lots of other students weren’t as lucky as you.

Good luck to all of you as you keep hearing decisions over the next month and let your mentor know as you hear from colleges.

Beyond the Boroughs National Scholarship FundWho can apply: low income seniors with 2.5 GPA or higherAmount of the award: $20,000 over 4 yearsInformation/Application: Beyond the BoroughsDeadline: March 15, 2016

Steve Tirado Family Foundation ScholarshipWho can apply: Latin@ high school seniorsAmount of the award: $5,000Information/Application: Steve Tirado Family FoundationDeadline: March 19, 2016

Hispanic Scholarship FundWho can apply: must be of Hispanic heritage and have a minimum 3.0 GPAAmount of the award: $500- $5,000Information/Application: HSF General College ScholarshipsDeadline: March 30, 2016

SanDisk Scholars ProgramWho can apply: seniors with minimum 3.0 GPA planning to major in computer science or engineeringAmount of the award: $10,000Information/Application: SanDisk ScholarsDeadline: March 31, 2016